Since 1990, RÚV has reported that seven people have been killed in shootings.
There are 77,000 firearms sold and 48,000 registered shotguns in Iceland. This year, there were 154 requests to arm him by the National Police Chief’s Special Forces, a record high.
“We are not necessarily seeing an increase in the number of cases where firearms are used in certain situations,” said field manager Rannveig Þórisdóttir, a national commissioner for the Icelandic Police. “Instead, they’re taken into context and not necessarily used, but they’re there.”
Of the 47,553 shotguns registered in the country, all but 200 are registered for sport shooting or hunting. About 1 shotgun for every 6 Icelanders (18+).
“We’ve seen an increase in the last few years,” says Rannveig. “There is a growing interest, including in sports photography.”
Iceland’s 20 most gun owners own a total of 2,052 guns, with an average of 103 guns per person.
“In private homes that own firearms, there are checks to make sure they are following gun safety regulations,” Rannveig says. “We try to monitor violations as closely as possible, but it is not surprising that people will be temporarily and even permanently stripped of their firearms licenses if they commit violations.”
